LaTonya contacted the studio to schedule a First Birthday session for her daughter, Charity with the whole family included. We sent LaTonya our style guide, Pinterest board, and our cake tips sheet to review as well! The style guide is a quick read and very easy to implement! The guide is relevant to any type of session you schedule with us. If you want more hands-on assistance from me in your styling, I’m here to support you! We can schedule a visit in the studio to go over your wardrobe options(whether you are borrowing from the studio wardrobe or wearing your own) or do it virtual with a few exchanged emails in advance of your session.
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T DRESS YOUR BABY UNTIL YOU ARRIVE AT THE STUDIO
If there’s one thing that’s true in life, it’s that things rarely go exactly the way we plan. Here’s a short list of things that can happen on the way to your session: random carsickness, a REALLY big sneeze, a bottle spill, your baby manages to find a chocolate m&m buried in their car seat….. You may scoff at this and think there’s no way…but these scenarios have actually happened to my clients. Fortunately, they had NOT yet dressed their child, so after a quick cleanup in the studio they were all ready to go!
WHERE TO GET YOUR SMASH CAKE
LaTonya brought along a pink and white smash cake with buttercream icing from a local bakery. Unfortunately, the bakery had put WAY too much icing on the cake, and it was sliding off the sides. After the initial shock of seeing the cake and wondering what she could do, I reassured LaTony that it would be ok! I handed her a butter knife that I keep in the studio, and we performed some smash cake icing surgery. This is not the first time that this has happened with a client bringing in a cake from a bakery, so that’s why I keep repair tools on hand. Most busy bakeries are not in the business of designing cakes for the specific purpose of photos, and often completely overdo it with too much icing or icing that is too heavy.
Publix, Kroger, and Whole Foods are all great commercial options to pick up a simple smash cake or cupcake and will not overdecorate your cake with their standard icing.
If you’re looking for a more custom and personalized experience with your baby’s smash cake, or if your baby has egg allergies/ needs a vegan option, we have the perfect solution! We highly recommend Christina with She Takes the Cake. Christina is our preferred and our ONLY recommend baker here in Atlanta. We are happy to connect you with her! She offers a delivery service where she’ll drop your cake off at the studio in advance of your session so it’s one less thing you need to worry about the day of, and her cakes are GORGEOUS.
Over the past four years, I have worked closely with Christina to develop the perfect buttercream consistency: soft enough to interact with and smash, but not so sticky that it turns cleanup into a nightmare for all involved. If you want to ensure that you don’t have a cake disaster with icing falling off the cake or dropping it on your way up to the studio, Christina is 100% the way to go!
TOP TIPS FOR YOUR BABY’S SMASH CAKE
Keep it simple! The focus should be on your baby, not their cake. Don’t choose fondant or add tons of objects to the cake for decor.
6 inch diameter size or less and no more than two layers maximum. If you have a really tall cake, it limits angles for photography since their face will be partially hidden behind it.
Real flowers are gorgeous on cakes. If you want to have some flowers, plan to remove them after the first few initial photographs - because they will most likely end up right in your baby’s mouth. This applies to anything on your cake that is not icing- candles, decor, etc. It ends up being a distraction from the task at hand and can also obscure adorable facial expressions during their session.
Neutral icing color (off white, cream, or pastels) is best - steer clear of neons or super bright colors that may permanently stain clothing and cause color casts in your photos
Do NOT decorate your cake with shaved coconut. Yes, the texture aesthetic is beautiful, but babies don’t like it, and it usually ends exploration of the cake as soon as they feel it in their mouth.
Buttercream icing only. DO NOT USE whipped icing, swiss buttercream, or fondant. Whipped icing (and swiss buttercream) is a slippery greasy horrific MESS. It is resistant to being wiped off skin and will result in wrestling your screaming baby while you struggle for control and mutter under your breath, “For the love of all that is holy, why won’t this stuff WIPE OFF?!?!?!.” Fondant is very thick, and difficult for babies to get through to the actual cake with their fingers and eat.
Skip writing a message on top of the cake (save it for the party cake instead) - it doesn’t photograph well.
How do I know the aforementioned tips? Years and years of experience and more cake smash sessions than I can count!
FIRST BIRTHDAY SESSION FLOW
First Birthday sessions are what I lovingly refer to as my 3-in-1 session. You’ll have solo portraits of your little one, family portraits, and cake smash photos all in one session. I started the session photographing Charity alone since she was a friendly and happy baby. If your baby is on the shy side, I’ll start with them in your arms for family and parent images so they feel safe and secure.
A NOTE ABOUT FIRST BIRTHDAY ONESIES
I love personalized onesies and think they are a great option for babies. There is something you need to know about onesies though, before you go order one from Etsy.
You cannot see the onesie when baby has the cake in front of them. Sometimes babies aren’t cooperative enough to allow an image with the onesie in full view before we get started. I always try to get at least one image where you CAN see it before we start with the cake. At this point a lot of babies are over being photographed and really need the distraction of a cake being put in front of them to continue on. After Charity’s solo images, we seamlessly transitioned to parent and family, and then LaTonya changed Charity into her outfit for the cake smashing fun!
THE CAKE SMASH
I took a few quick solo photos of Charity in our Eames chair to show off her long sleeved “One” onesie and pink tutu and she flashed the sweetest grins! After I finished up, I pulled out one of our antique high chairs (we have 3) and got her all settled.
I demonstrate exactly how you should present the cake to your baby before you actually do it(sounds silly, but it does matter!) I will physically show you what I need you to do throughout during my sessions, so you will never be left wondering about what you should be doing.
When Chairty saw her cake, she grabbed it and went to town and decimated it down to the base! If your baby isn’t super interested in their cake, parents getting into the photographs can help a lot. A lot of babies love to “feed” their parents. If you model feeding each other cake for your little one, they’ll see it as a fun game to play. Once they become interested and start exploring their cake, parents can slowly back out of the frame and I’ll get those solo images of them covered in cake and icing!
Enjoy a few of my favorites from Charity’s First Birthday session!
If you're expecting a baby or already a parent and looking for a newborn, maternity, or family photographer, I would love to work with you to create images that you will love for a lifetime. Watch this video to hear about my philosophy and see how I work in the studio so you can determine if I'm the right fit for you. I can't wait to meet you!
Lily Sophia Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, and family photography in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas.
